Publisher's Synopsis
Slip-Slidin' Down Gold Mountain is an edgy historical fiction novel, an American wu-jia action-adventure story of how heroes and villains from three cultures (Native Peoples, Chinese, Anglo) collide violently as they struggle to survive the raw, quickly-changing frontier society of the California Gold Rush. Notably, California was unique in being the first place in North Americawherethe state officially sanctioned extermination of a race.This story-of people seekingbetter choices than beheading, hanging or slavery at the hands of the governing elite-is not new. Slip-Slidin' Down Gold Mountain recounts a story of cultural myopia and its paradigm that have goose-stepped us up to the edge of self-extinction. What this novel does not have/does not do: -This novel doesn't merely recount events. -There's no great emphasis on love scenes, none of the sappy soap opera romances, nor fortuitous sex. -It doesn't have the "smart, snappy, with-it voice" of the modern man or woman. -It's not a piece of the normal commercial literature built around vapid, untested characters, contrived dilemmas, and elitist world views. -It is not substantiated by "official," politically correct revisions of history as presented in schools and universities. What this novel does offer: -True accounts of events-not politically-correct propaganda-that moved men and women of the mid-to-late-1800's. -An understanding of the value systems generating the acts of individuals within historical events, their differing mind-sets and behavior. -No-holds barred accounting of what went down between the dominant Euro-Americans and people of color-their sludge-like mentality, their subsequent actions during the Gold Rush, the events that led up to it, and the resulting paradigms that continue to present day America. -The story-line is even more extensive in that it weaves in influences from the ancient Silk Road, the Ching Dynasty, the American Revolution, and the Civil War. -It examines such issues as class warfare, cross-cultural gender models and manipulations, and inter-generational expectations. -It shows that the impact of History lies forever with us in our daily moments.